The annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this past week (August 22-24), sponsored by the Federal Reserve, elicited a collective yawn from the establishment media. Since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had announced earlier that he would not be attending — the first time in 24 years a Fed chairman has missed the annual confab — most media reports downplayed the significance of the conference and focused on speculation over how soon the Fed might begin its announced “tapering” program (Will it be in September, December, or January?), and by how much (Will it be a reduction of $10 billion/month, or $15 billion, or $20 billion?). An even bigger diversion was the speculation over the anticipated departure of Bernanke from the Fed and who his replacement is likely to be — with Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers leading the short list of candidates.

No Watchdogs Allowed; Only Fed-friendly Media Lapdogs Admitted

However, with the global economy teetering on the brink and the world’s central bankers engaged, along with their commercial bank partners, in vastly expanding their powers and robbing their customers and taxpayers of trillions of dollars, it is easy to see why they would welcome the diversionary coverage provided by the dozen selected reporters (from Fox, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AP, New York Times, Bloomberg, et al) who were admitted to the conference.